N.C. State's Lowe has Wolfpack on a run

Posted on Sun, Mar. 11, 2007

KEN TYSIAC
The Charlotte Observer
ktysiac@charlotteobserver.com


TAMPA, Fla. --As he exited N.C. State's locker room Saturday, athletics director Lee Fowler shook his head happily.

"Today would have been Jimmy V's 61st birthday," Fowler said.

If only he could be here to see. The late, great N.C. State coach Jim Valvano's legacy lives on as the gritty Wolfpack underdogs prepare to meet top-seeded North Carolina in today's 1 p.m. ACC tournament final at the St. Pete Times Forum.

Sidney Lowe, who led N.C. State's incredible run to the 1983 ACC and NCAA tournament titles under Valvano as a senior point guard, has coached the Wolfpack to run the half-court offense brilliantly to reach the final as a No. 10 seed.

N.C. State (18-14) entered the tournament with no chance of reaching the NCAA tournament unless it won the automatic bid that accompanies an ACC title.

"With the way we're doing it right now -- very similar to what a lot of our fans saw in 1983 -- it would just be an outstanding accomplishment for this ball club (to win the tournament)," Lowe said.

North Carolina (27-6) has been overshadowed by the nostalgic story of the underdogs from Raleigh, but is attempting to end a long drought of its own. The Tar Heels own 15 ACC titles, but haven't won one since 1998.

With that in mind, coach Roy Williams showed the banners that hang in the Smith Center to his players before they left Chapel Hill. Last year's banner simply said "NCAA Tournament."

The 2004-05 team won the ACC regular season title and the NCAA championship, but not the ACC tournament.

"You want to do something none of our teams have won?" Williams said he told his players. "Let's win the dadgum tournament this weekend."

Williams is frustrated with the perception that he doesn't care about winning the ACC tournament because he famously referred to it as a "cocktail party" a few years ago.



N.C. State's Ben McCauley (34) blocks the shot of Virginia Tech's Zabian Dowdell (1) in the second half.

Lowe doesn't suffer under that perception. A few days ago, he told his players that something special happens in the ACC tournament every year.

He challenged them to be the special thing this year. They answered with wins over No. 7 seed Duke, No. 2 seed Virginia and No. 3 seed Virginia Tech.

In his first season as N.C. State's coach, Lowe often has called upon the school's legacy for support and motivation. He lured another former N.C. State national champion point guard, Monte Towe, from a head coaching job at New Orleans to be his top assistant.

Before coaching against North Carolina for the first time, he spoke passionately about how special the rivalry with the Tar Heels was to him. Today, Lowe takes that rivalry to a new stage in Florida.

And his players are experiencing the same magic he did under Valvano, the colorful coach who died of cancer in 1993.

"He's probably watching over us right now," said North Carolina center Ben McCauley. "And this is awesome."